PHOTO GALLERY: Joplin welcomes President Obama

Sunday, May 29, 2011 | 7:56 p.m. CDT

Nicholas Hickman, 12, peers down the street to see if he can spot President Barack Obama's motorcade as he arrives to speak during the memorial service at Missouri Southern State University on Sunday. The service was to remember those who died in the tornado a week ago.¦ GRANT HINDSLEY/Missourian

People lined the streets in Joplin as President Barack Obama came to survey the destruction and speak at a memorial service on Sunday.

Brennan Lynch, 10, sits along Newman Road as he waits for President Obama's arrival at Missouri Southern State University on Sunday, May 29.¦ GRANT HINDSLEY/Missourian

An American flag, 35 feet by 25 feet, is hung on Sunday, May 29, on 20th Street in Joplin. The flag was tied to broken power and phone lines and a debarked tree.¦ GRANT HINDSLEY/Missourian

Mark and Crystal Haase hold their heads low while listening to the memorial ceremony at Missouri Southern State University on Sunday, May 29. Thousands of people from all over the country showed up to support those affected by last Sunday's tornado.¦ GRANT HINDSLEY/Missourian

People wait for President Barack Obama to arrive in Joplin for a memorial service honoring those who died in the tornado, while showing their American spirit on Sunday, May 29, on Newman Road. President Obama and Gov. Jay Nixon spoke at Missouri Southern State University.¦ GRANT HINDSLEY/Missourian

President Barack Obama speaks at a community memorial service at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin on Sunday, May 29. The memorial was a chance for reflection for those affected by a devastating tornado one week ago, which killed at least 142 in Joplin and injured hundreds more.¦ Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press

President Barack Obama views damage from the tornado that devastated Joplin on Sunday, May 29.¦ J. Scott Applewhite/The Associated Press